If Atticus Finch Could Speak For Eric Garner

In the wake of the decision handed down by the New York grand jury [Dec. 4, Page 1, "Grand Jury Clears Officer: No Indictment In Choke Hold Death"], I can't help but think of Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird."

"To begin with, this case should have gone to trial. Evidence, both medical and real-time visual, shows the act Officer Daniel Pantaleo is accused of took place. This case is as simple as black and white. It requires no minute sifting of complicated facts. There is one way in this country in which all men are created equal: An institution that makes a tackled middle-aged black man the equal of police officers (four of them!), the ignorant man the equal of any president. That institution is the court. In the name of God, do your duty. In the name of God, honor the legacy of Eric Garner."